


I love me enough for the both of us

by bonbon_asesina



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Happy Ending, M/M, Post Season 2 Finale, first sv fic, monicas pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-09 22:52:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4367366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonbon_asesina/pseuds/bonbon_asesina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Monica really has no idea what the fuck she's doing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I love me enough for the both of us

For someone that prides herself in the ability to remain logical in every situation, Monica feels like a fucking idiot right now.

She's on a date with Richard Hendricks, ex-CEO to the compression company Pied Piper, and good friend. They'd been skating around this date for months now, each coming up with excuses in their heads as to why they haven't actually gone through with the drinks they had promised each other months ago. 

Monica had always assumed that she would have to be the one in the relationship to make the first move, knowing that Richard's anxiety kept him from ever attempting anything 'courageous'. Monica was fine with that, in fact, she often sought control over her significant others. Every single relationship she had been in had inadvertently turn into a dom/sub situation. But when it came to acting on what she assumed was inevitable with Richard, she struggled to actually shift the dynamic that already worked so well for them.

Monica liked to blame her resistance towards a romance with Richard on coworker relationship guidelines, citing her fear of losing her job at Raviga as the key reason she and Richard weren't an item yet. Truthfully, though, her reservations were more based on reactions that were completely illogical.

Monica had seen enough romantic comedies to understand what a good relationship was made up of. Or at least what a good relationship was supposed to look like. From an objective point, Monica and Richard could totally pass for a movie couple. They definitely weren't the leads of a _good_ movie, but them being together wasn't at all far fetched.

The problem with comparing them to the epic love stories of films like _The Notebook_ and _Titanic_  was that they lacked the intense, "can't live without each other" feelings these characters had for each other.  It was painfully funny to Monica that in the midst of contemplating a romantic relationship with Richard, she realized that she didn't actually want to be in a relationship with him at all. When Monica went as far as to picture what her and Richard's movie would look like, she always felt like she had been watching some sick incestuous horror film.

Luckily, Monica was pretty sure that Richard felt the same way about her. She assumed that his reasons for agreeing to go on this date were A) He was too nice to say no, and B) The whole "I call my laptop girlfriend cause I haven't had one in three years" probably shook him up a bit. Also, in the dark depths of Monica's brain, a tiny voice in her head nagged at her to look deeper into the relationship Richard had with his friend Jared.

Jared Dunn, or Donald, or OJ, she's really not sure. Business developer of the now Richard-less Pied Piper, and fellow occupant of the Hacker Hostel.

Monica had never envisioned herself in a love triangle but when it came to Richard and Jared, it was more like a straight line with Monica looking on from a far off point. She'd known since the early Tech Crunch days that Jared had a thing for Richard, a big thing judging by the lecture he gave her on not touching what was his. Monica also knew that Richard had trusted so much of his personal life and company with Jared. In fact, for a long time after his firing, Richard had talked about handing the CEO position over to Jared. She also had some vague memory of Richard coming into a meeting at Raviga all mopey, mentioning something about a fight he had with Jared who, the next day, had emailed Laurie a decline to the CEO position. At first Monica had assumed it was because Jared didn't feel he had the credentials for it, but now, looking back, she thinks it had more to do with not wanting to end up like the abusive CEO he worked under at Hooli.

That was another thing about Richard and Jared's relationship, they vented to each other about EVERYTHING. Every single time Richard had lost an argument to Laurie, he had scurried out of the meeting with his phone in his hands ready to text someone. She knew it was Jared since Richard's only other options were Bighead, which was unlikely given the fact that Nelson was currently in a long term relationship with the guy that had essentially put Richard in this mess; or a group of three apathetic assholes.

Richard was also ridiculously protective of Jared, often surprising even Monica with his reactions. Monica had never actually heard Richard yell up until like a month ago when Erlich called Jared an "unwanted mozzarella cheese stick". It wasn't necessarily the name (which Monica honestly thought was really fucking funny), but the fact that everyone started laughing after. At the time Monica had thought that Richard was overreacting, but now she realized that maybe the "unwanted" part was what he was trying to protect Jared from. She _had_ taken a glance at Jared's HR file.

The only real reason she hadn't really contemplated the possibility of Jared and Richard being an actual thing was because Monica had never caught Jared and Richard doing anything that a couple of really, really good friends wouldn't do (except maybe blush when one said something nice about the other). They were either sly as fuck, or Monica was over thinking things again.

So Richard was probably not straight. Who the fuck cares? She was like 96% sure she wasn't either (leaving the discussion on her feelings for a certain blue haired engineer for a later time). 

The sad desperate part of Monica kept repeating those stupid fucking Drake lyrics in her head, _"Who the fuck wants to be 70 and alone_?" The stupid line becoming like a fucking mantra over the last month.

Monica Hall was a strong, beautiful, successful woman who didn't need anyone to give value to her self worth. That's not what she wanted. She wanted a fucking partner that would hold her hand when she was sad, and help her put away groceries. Someone who she could talk shit about Laurie to. She fucking needed someone to console her when she got the call about Peter a year ago. So fuck everyone that said this date with Richard was a bad idea, she can do whatever the hell she wants.

Those are the words Monica repeats to herself now as Richard gushes about Jared's haircut. Monica pictured an audience watching them on their "date", laughing at her for going out with a guy who was so clearly in love with someone else. It's not a particularly bad date, after all they do get along as friends on normal days. In fact, if Monica didn't know what she knows now, she would've enjoyed Richard's little anecdotes about Jared. It was sweet really, the way Richard's eyes lit up when he talked about Jared's lasagna. Oh shit. Does she want Jared and Richard to get together?

What. The. Fuck.

Crap, Monica thinks, their kids would probably be the cutest. Jarrich would be the Silicon Valley power couple. Shit, she just referred to them as Jarrich. She crossed her legs, trying not to picture them having sex. Goddamn these months of celibacy.

Without realizing it, Monica had become the villain of another couples romantic comedy.

 "Richard, I think I need to tell you something," Monica said, placing her hands on Richard's, trying to get him to shut up. "I think you might be-", Monica stopped talking when she realized Richard wasn't paying attention, preoccupied with staring at something over her shoulder. His eyebrows furrowed when she heard the little bell on the front door of the restaurant jingle.

She turned to see what the fuck could be so important, when a dripping wet Jared Dunn walked in. He politely shooed away the questioning hostess, always the gentleman, even when his hair and clothes were completely soaked.

When Monica saw the determined look on his face, she quickly moved her chair so Richard and Jared could have straight eye contact. She doesn't even know how that became a reflex.

"Jared, what're you doing here?" Richard said, already making his way over to Jared, "You're all wet man. If you knew it was raining, why didn't you bring an um-." He shut up when Jared cupped his cheeks, his long fingers reaching up to Richard's hairline.

"Richard, I need to tell you something that could be essential to our future together." He nodded slowly, a confused look on his face.

"I am very much in love with you." For a second Monica thought it would get weird, but Richard quickly pulled Jared by his sweater, kissing the taller man hard.

They pulled away from each other, Richard stretching to rest his forehead on Jared's, "You fucking asshole, I've been waiting for you to say that for like a year!" They changed positions, Richard wrapping his arms around Jared's neck while Jareds moved down to Richard's waist.

"I think I'm, like, really in love with you, too." They kissed again, this time longer and, to Monica's embarrassment, deeper.

An elderly couple and the hostess clapped. Everyone else pretended like they didn't have huge smiles on their faces.   

Monica quietly scooted out of her chair, paying the bill and the tip as a gift to the happy couple. She tiptoed out the back entrance, looking back once to see the lovers laughing about something, Richard's arms still loosely around Jared's neck.

She made it back to her car safely, turning on the radio to the same depressing Drake song that fucked her over.

She quickly changed the station.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Drake's "From Time" (also mentioned in story)


End file.
